Participant observation is a method used in qualitative research, where the investigator typically has daily sustained contact with a group of people in their natural setting, observes and participates in their activities, and records as much of what occurs as possible. Traditionally used by anthropologists to investigate unfamiliar small-scale societies, participant observation is now employed by researchers from numerous disciplines in a variety of settings. In aging research in the United States, participant observation studies have been carried out in nursing homes, day care centers, senior citizen centers, and retirement communities. The benefits of participant observation include flexibility of research design, the perspective of the "insider," the inclusion of context, the experience of "being there" day after day, and an understanding of changes over time. These benefits are discussed and illustrated in this article by examples drawn from the author's participant observation study of physicians-in- training and their interactions with dying elderly patients. The types of inquiry in the field of aging that could benefit from participant observation research are also explored.
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